Geomorfologia e paleo-hidrologia dos megaleques dos rios Cuiabá e São Lourenço, quaternário da Bacia do Pantanal

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Estudo dos efeitos da criação de morfologias antropogênicas em área de mineração

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Hidrovia e desenvolvimento regional: estudo dos projetos de desenvolvimento dos vales do Tietê e Paraná no Estado de São Paulo

"This paper aims to examine three regional development plans proposed for the region of the valleys of rivers Tietê and Paraná: Rail Project (ISCO, 1994), the Development Plan (CESP, 1996) and Máster Plan (ADTP, 1996). The interest in conducting the study relies on the possibility that it may contribute to the debate on the reshaping of public policy and style necessary to establish a new pattern of regional development in the country"

Effect of surface roughness on the hydrophobicity of a denture-base acrylic resin and Candida albicans colonization

Aim The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of surface roughness (roughness average [Ra] μm) on the hydrophobicity of a denture-base acrylic resin and the initial adherence and biofilm formation of Candida albicans (C. albicans). Methods Disk-shaped specimens were divided into six groups: Ra 0.05, Ra 0.2, Ra 0.4, Ra 0.8, Ra 1.5, and Ra 3.0. Water contact angles (WCA) were measured, and the specimens incubated with C. albicans for 90 min (initial adherence, n = 108) or 48 h (biofilm formation, n = 108). Adhered and biofilm cells were evaluated by c.f.u./mL and 2,3-bis-(2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium-5-carboxanilide (XTT), and the correlation between the two methods was evaluated. The surface of the specimens and cells (adhered and biofilm) were also analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results Groups Ra 0.05 and 3.0 exhibited the lowest (~75°) and the highest (~100°) WCA mean values, respectively. For both initial adherence and biofilm formation, no statistically-significant differences were observed among all groups, as determined by c.f.u./mL and XTT. A positive correlation between these two methods was found. SEM analysis showed the presence of scratches and valleys on the acrylic specimens and densely-packed yeast cells covering the entire surface. Conclusions Roughness significantly increased hydrophobicity (WCA), but had no effect on the number and metabolic activity of adherent and biofilm cells of C. albicans.

Mineral Loss and Morphological Changes in Dental Enamel Induced by a 16% Carbamide Peroxide Bleaching Gel

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Das terras do Sem Fim aos Territórios do Agrohidronegócio: conflitos por terra e água no vale do São Francisco

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Caracterização morfológica e cristalográfica da zircônia após desgaste com pedra diamantada e elaboração de um protocolo para tratamento térmico regenerativo

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

EC38-118 Soil and Moisture Conservation in Nebraska

When the white men first explored Nebraska, they found little erosion taking place. They found the hills, particularly in eastern Nebraska, covered with a dense growth of grass, underlain with a thick mat of decaying debris. The valleys were even more densely covered with the water-loving grasses and sedges. The soil underneath the prairie was black and spongy, the result of centuries of accumulating humus. The valleys bordering the streams were boggy and abounded with springs. Clear water flowed constantly in the streams. The upland draws in the more favorable parts of the state were heavily covered with the big bluestem and slough grass. Springs occurred in many of these. Soil erosion in Nebraska has not progressed to as great an extent as in states to the east and to the south. This is because of the comparatively lower rainfall in Nebraska, because the land has been farmed for fewer years in this state, and because some Nebraska soils are comparatively less erosive. This extension circular covers factors which influence erosion, erosion control practices, and storage of soil moisture.

EC38-118 Soil and Moisture Conservation in Nebraska

When the white men first explored Nebraska, they found little erosion taking place. They found the hills, particularly in eastern Nebraska, covered with a dense growth of grass, underlain with a thick mat of decaying debris. The valleys were even more densely covered with the water-loving grasses and sedges. The soil underneath and prairie was black and soggy, the result of centuries of accumulating humus. The valleys bordernig the streams were boggy and abounded with springs. Clear water flowed constantly in the streams. The upland draws in the more favorable parts of the state were heavily covered with the big bluesteam and slough grass. Springs occurred in many of these. Soil erosion in Nebraska has not progressed to as great an extent as in states to the east and to the south. This is because of the comparatively lower rainfall in Nebraska, because the land has been farmed for fewer years in this state, and because some Nebraska soils are comparatively less erosive. This extension circular covers the factors which influence erosion, erosion control practices and storage of soil moisture.

Book Review of Stone by Stone: Exploring Ancient Sites on the Canadian Plains by Liz Bryan

Liz Bryan begins her book with a description of the Canadian Plains:" . .. a voluptuous landscape of hills and valleys and plains, of lakes and tiny twinkling potholes, of flower-filled coulees and vast sand dunes." Her emphasis throughout on the landscape of southern Saskatchewan and Alberta is necessary since the ancient monuments she describes only truly resonate within this setting. Indeed, almost every page of this attractive book is adorned with at least two color images-of scenery, stone features, artifacts, and aboriginal events. She then proceeds to an eclectic overview of the archaeological record of the Plains of Saskatchewan and Alberta, including the earliest human evidence, such as the Clovis points from the Wally's Beach site, Alberta, where the trackways of mammoths, camels, and muskoxen were miraculously and briefly exposed in the late 1990s. There is one perplexing error, however-the attribution of the extinction of the ice age bestiary, about 12,000 years ago, to the meteorite that felled the dinosaurs!

CONTROLLING YELLOW-BILLED MAGPIES (Pica nuttalli)

The yellow-billed magpie is a little smaller than the American or black-billed magpie, but the difference in size is very slight. The birds look exactly alike, except one has a black beak and the other has a yellow bill and a bit of yellow skin back of the eye.There are concentrated populations in the Los Banos area, Gustine area, and along the course of the Merced River comprising about 19,100 acres. They are occasionally seen in other areas of the County, but only infrequently observed in the southwestern portion of the County. The heaviest populations are in walnut orchards, dairy farms, almond orchards, turkey ranches and areas adjacent to river bottoms.The yellow-billed magpie may represent a dying ancient race. Since scientific interest has been directed toward its habits and distribution, its range has become more restricted. There are reports that 50 or 60 years ago it was common in many places close to the Coast, where the observer would now look for it in vain. It inhabits only the interior of California west of the Sierra Nevada, chiefly in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys. It haunts stock ranches, because food to its liking is usually plentiful in such places. When cattle and sheep are butchered the refuse attracts magpies. They gather about any dead animal. They feed on grasshoppers, worms and grubs, and of course always look for a reasonable supply of eggs.

Bacterial diversity in rhizosphere soil from Antarctic vascular plants of Admiralty Bay, maritime Antarctica

The Antarctic is a pristine environment that contributes to the maintenance of the global climate equilibrium. The harsh conditions of this habitat are fundamental to selecting those organisms able to survive in such an extreme habitat and able to support the relatively simple ecosystems. The DNA of the microbial community associated with the rhizospheres of Deschampsia antarctica Desv (Poaceae) and Colobanthus quitensis (Kunth) BartI (Caryophyllaceae), the only two native vascular plants that are found in Antarctic ecosystems, was evaluated using a 16S rRNA multiplex 454 pyrosequencing approach. This analysis revealed similar patterns of bacterial diversity between the two plant species from different locations, arguing against the hypothesis that there would be differences between the rhizosphere communities of different plants. Furthermore, the phylum distribution presented a peculiar pattern, with a bacterial community structure different from those reported of many other soils. Firmicutes was the most abundant phylum in almost all the analyzed samples, and there were high levels of anaerobic representatives. Also, some phyla that are dominant in most temperate and tropical soils, such as Acidobacteria, were rarely found in the analyzed samples. Analyzing all the sample libraries together, the predominant genera found were Bifidobacterium (phylum Actinobacteria), Arcobacter (phylum Proteobacteria) and Faecalibacterium (phylum Firmicutes). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first major bacterial sequencing effort of this kind of soil, and it revealed more than expected diversity within these rhizospheres of both maritime Antarctica vascular plants in Admiralty Bay, King George Island, which is part of the South Shetlands archipelago. The ISME Journal (2010) 4, 989-1001; doi:10.1038/ismej.2010.35; published online 1 April 2010

Facies associations and controls on the evolution from a coastal bay to a lagoon system, Santa Catarina Coast, Brazil

The diverse Holocene morphological features along the south coast of the state of Santa Catarina include lagoons and residual lakes, a barrier, a delta (constructed by the Tubarao River), and pre-existing incised valleys that have flooded and filled. This scenario contains the sedimentary record of the transition from a bay to a lagoon system, which occurred during the rise and subsequent semi-stabilisation of the relative sea-level during the Holocene. The geomorphological evolution of this area was investigated using a combination of morphology, stratigraphic analysis of rotary push cores, vibracores and trenches with radiocarbon dating, taxonomic determination and taphonomic characterisation of Holocene fossil molluscs. Palaeogeographic maps were constructed to illustrate how the bay evolved over the last 8000 years. The relative sea-level rise and local sedimentary processes were the prime forcing factors determining the depositional history and palaeogeographic changes. The Holocene sedimentary succession began between 8000 and 5700 cal BP with the deposits of transgressive sandsheets. These deposits correspond to the initial marine flooding surface that was formed while the relative sea-level rose at a higher rate than the input of sediments, prior to the formation of the coastal barrier. The change from a bay to a lagoon system occurred around 5700 and 2500 cal BP during the mid-Holocene highstand with the formation of the barrier and with the achievement of a balance between sea-level rise and sedimentary supply. Until 2500 cal BP, the presence of this barrier, the following gentle decline in sea level and the initial emergence of back-barrier features restricted the hydro-dynamic circulation inside the bay and favoured an increase in the Tubarao River delta progradation rate. The final stage, during the last 2500 years, was marked by the increasing back-barrier width, with the establishment of salt marshes, the arrival of the delta in the back-barrier, and the advance of aeolian dunes along the outer lagoon margins. This study shed light on the mechanisms of coastal bay evolution in a setting existed prior to the beginning of barrier lagoon sedimentation. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Inhomogeneity in optical properties of rat brain: a study for LLLT dosimetry.

Over the last few years, low-level light therapy (LLLT) has shown an incredible suitability for a wide range of applications for central nervous system (CNS) related diseases. In this therapeutic modality light dosimetry is extremely critical so the study of light propagation through the CNS organs is of great importance. To better understand how light intensity is delivered to the most relevant neural sites we evaluated optical transmission through slices of rat brain point by point. We experimented red (λ = 660 nm) and near infrared (λ = 808 nm) diode laser light analyzing the light penetration and distribution in the whole brain. A fresh Wistar rat (Rattus novergicus) brain was cut in sagittal slices and illuminated with a broad light beam. A high-resolution digital camera was employed to acquire data of transmitted light. Spatial profiles of the light transmitted through the sample were obtained from the images. Peaks and valleys in the profiles show sites where light was less or more attenuated. The peak intensities provide information about total attenuation and the peak widths are correlated to the scattering coefficient at that individual portion of the sample. The outcomes of this study provide remarkable information for LLLT dose-dependent studies involving CNS and highlight the importance of LLLT dosimetry in CNS organs for large range of applications in animal and human diseases.

Mountain centered icefields in northern Scandinavia

Mountain centered glaciers have played a major role throughout the last three million years in the Scandinavian mountains. The climatic extremes, like the present warm interglacial or cold glacial maxima, are very short-lived compared to the periods of intermediate climate conditions, characterized by the persistence of mountain based glaciers and ice fields of regional size. These have persisted in the Scandinavian mountains for about 65% of the Quaternary. Mountain based glaciers thus had a profound impact on large-scale geomorphology, which is manifested in large-scale glacial landforms such as fjords, glacial lakes and U-shaped valleys in and close to the mountain range. Through a mapping of glacial landforms in the northern Scandinavian mountain range, in particular a striking set of lateral moraines, this thesis offers new insights into Weichselian stages predating the last glacial maximum. The aerial photograph mapping and field evidence yield evidence that these lateral moraines were overridden by glacier ice subsequent to their formation. The lateral moraines were dated using terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide techniques. Although the terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide signature of the moraines is inconclusive, an early Weichselian age is tentatively suggested through correlations with other landforms and stratigraphical archives in the region. The abundance and coherent spatial pattern of the lateral moraines also allow a spatial reconstruction of this ice field. The ice field was controlled by topography and had nunataks protruding also where it was thickest close to the elevation axis of the Scandinavian mountain range. Outlet glaciers discharged into the Norwegian fjords and major valleys in Sweden. The process by which mountain based glaciers grow into an ice sheet is a matter of debate. In this thesis, a feedback mechanism between debris on the ice surface and ice sheet growth is presented. In essence, the growth of glaciers and ice sheets may be accelerated by an abundance of debris in their ablation areas. This may occur when the debris cover on the glacier surface inhibits ablation, effectively increasing the glaciers mass balance. It is thus possible that a dirty ablation area may cause the glacier to advance further than a clean glacier under similar conditions. An ice free period of significant length allows soil production through weathering, frost shattering, and slope processes. As glaciers advance through this assemblage of sediments, significant amounts of debris end up on the surface due to both mass wastage and subglacial entrainment. Evidence that this chain of events may occur, is given by large expanses of hummocky moraine (local name Veiki moraine) in the northern Swedish lowlands. Because the Veiki moraine has been correlated with the first Weichselian advance following the Eemian, it implies a heavily debris charged ice sheet emanating from the mountain range and terminating in a stagnant fashion in the lowlands.